Family and The Flu
by everythingofmyinterests
Summary: Meredith gets sick and it's up to Derek and Lexie to take care of her even if it proves to be more difficult than either of them thought. Meredith and Lexie get some much needed time to bond as do Derek and Meredith. Set during season seven. One shot.


Meredith sat on the floor in the dark bathroom hugging the toilet as she hung her head over the bowl, coughing into it for the third time that morning. It was only one o'clock in the morning. The sun wasn't even up yet and she wouldn't be either if it wasn't for the twisting feeling in her gut. She looked up from her spot on the ground to make sure Derek was still sleeping. He had only gotten home from his late shift at the hospital about two hours ago and she didn't want to wake him. Seeing that he was still resting soundly she smiled to herself. _At least one of us can get some sleep_, she thought before another wave of nausea hit her and she was forced to hold herself over the toilet once more.

When she finally leaned back she noticed a figure in the doorway. "What are you doing up" she mumbled, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Derek frowned down at her, his sleepy eyes full of concern. "I could ask you the same thing. Are you okay?" he questioned. "I'm fine" she lied as she tried to ignore how uneasy and lightheaded she felt. "You don't look fine. You look awful" Derek observed. He knelt down next to her and laid the back of his hand against her forehead. "You're burning up" he sighed. She would never admit it but she was grateful when he ran a washcloth under cold water and dabbed at her face with it in an effort to cool her down. The coldness of it was so comforting that when he pulled it away she couldn't help but whine in protest. Without it pressed against her neck she felt dizzy. She didn't complain when he scooped her into his arms and carried her back to their bed.

He left the room and came back with a glass of water which he held to her lips. She took it out of his hands and sent him a warning glare. "I can drink on my own" she commented dryly before taking an unsuccessful sip. She coughed as the cold water slid down her throat and sputtered it everywhere. She wiped at her face and clothes embarrassedly. He was sure that if she wasn't so pale her face would be a shade of crimson red. "Easy. Just let me help you" he said, pulling the glass back out of her clammy hands. He tilts the glass against her mouth and she takes a much more cautious sip. When she nods her head he helps her lay back against the pillow and puts the water on her nightstand. "Tell me what hurts" he coddles her like a child. Usually she would find it demeaning but right now she feels too miserable to care. "My stomach and my head. My legs" she adds snuggling deeper into her comforter. She shivers as she tells him and he's positive that despite what he has no doubt is an extremely high fever she also has the chills. "Sounds like the flu" he informs and she whines immediately.

"I'm too busy to have the flu" she coughs and pulls the blanket tighter around her. "Well maybe if you had gotten your flu shot like I said you wouldn't have this problem" he tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and raises his eyebrows at her in an _I told you so _fashion. She sticks her bottom lip out in a pout and he tries to stifle a laugh. "Don't laugh at me I'm sick" she tells him. He tries to take her seriously but this is the first time since they've been together that she has been ill and he can't help but realize how childlike she acts. He's all too aware that if he continues to laugh at her expense she will begin to use him as her personal punching bag so he excuses himself to go find the thermometer.

For a house filled with doctors he finds it surprisingly hard to locate a thermometer. He has to knock on Alex, Jackson, Lexie, and April's bedroom doors before April finally finds one in a first aid kit that she just so happens to have. He is surprised when they all follow him back to his and Meredith's room to see the results. He finds it touching and not for the first time realizes that Meredith's strays are very much her family. When he sits beside her again she is sound asleep. "Mer, honey wake up" he prods gently. "Mmm" she moans tiredly. She opens her eyes and he knows it's just a matter of time before she falls back asleep. He sticks the thermometer in her mouth. Her eyelids are heavy and she closes them seconds before it beeps. "102.6 degrees" he announces. All four doctors in the doorway knit their eyebrows in concern. They know it's not dangerous but they still don't like the fact that it's even remotely high. "There's some tylenol in the bathroom. I'll go get it" Lexie tells him. April follows her and they both come back with much more than tylenol.

April's hands are full of different types of fever and pain relief medicines along with vapor rubs and decongestants. Lexie drops several more blankets on to the bed and hands Derek the tylenol. "Thanks" he says and rubs his hands across his face in that way he does when he's stressed. "Come on guys lets go back to bed. Shepherd can take care of his wife on his own" Alex tells them and they all nod. Jackson is the first to walk away, followed by April who offers a quick "Hope she feels better" through a yawn. Lexie seems reluctant to go so Alex places a hand on her back and leads her away from their room.

When their gone Derek reminds himself that when Meredith is feeling better he has to tell her that really doesn't mind their home being a frat house. Her friends care, that much is obvious and after everything they've all gone through he's not going to turn away anyone who cares. He is pulled out of his thoughts when he hears Meredith groan in her sleep. Reluctantly he wakes her up to give her the tylenol Lexie had found for them. She coughs and sniffles a few times and he remembers the vapor rub. "Do you mind" he asks as he opens the canister and scoops some into his hands. She unbuttons the flannel shirt she's wearing, the one she stole from him because _it smells like him_ and tosses it aside. With one hand he holds her hair out of the way and with the other he rubs the cold gel on to her chest. She moans slightly at their contact, already feeling the affects of the medicine. "Ya know, if you weren't deliriously sick right now I would be so turned on" he whispers but she's so exhausted that she doesn't even respond to his dirty comments. When he finishes applying the vapor rub he helps her put her shirt back on and buttons a few of the holes before pulling the comforter over her again along with the extra blankets Lexie had brought. Derek switches the light off and climbs into bed next to her.

He's sure that she's asleep until he hears her groggily mumble "Thankyou for taking care of me". He smiles and places a kiss to her forehead. She wraps her arms around him and lays her head on his chest. "I love you" she whispers again. "I love you too" he holds her a little tighter. Her soft snores begin to fill the room and he lets himself fall asleep to the sound. Her snoring used to bother him but now it is a much welcomed soundtrack, one he finds he has a hard time falling asleep with out. Now that he knows she's comfortable and sleeping soundly in his arms he can close his eyes too and use what is left of the night to rest. Somehow he has the feeling that taking care of Meredith tomorrow won't be easy.

He wakes up before Meredith the next morning but that doesn't shock him. He had the flu when he was little and all he could remember from that week and a half of his childhood was sleeping, sleeping constantly. Careful not to wake her he climbs out of bed and heads downstairs. When he enters the kitchen everyone looks up at him. Alex speaks first. "How's she feeling?" he asks. Derek grabs a bowl out of the cupboard. "She seems okay. She's sleeping right now but I'm going to call out of work today to be sure" he tells them as he pours some muesli into his bowl. "You don't have to do that. I have the day off. I'll take care of her" Lexie offers taking a bite of her strawberry jam covered toast.

Derek nearly chokes on his breakfast. He knows that Meredith and Lexie have grown a lot closer in the past two years but he's not quite sure how Meredith will take to being babied by her baby sister. "Are you sure? She could be pretty difficult" he warns lightly. "That's an understatement" Alex chirps in. Lexie shoots him an annoyed glare. "I can handle Meredith" she laughs confidently. "Okay, thanks" Derek says slightly unsure of how to respond. Lexie turns to face him. "She's my sister. I care about her too" she bites back more harshly than he expected. Derek bows his head. He knows all this. He knows that they are no longer colleagues who happen to be sisters but the opposite. Now they are sisters who happen to be colleagues. "I know. I'm sorry. Thank you, really" Derek apologized offering her a genuine smile. She nods and gets up to put her plate in the sink. "Well good luck" Alex quips before grabbing his keys and leaving the room. April and Jackson follow him in a rush and it's not long before Lexie and Derek hear the front door close. "Hey, you know I didn't mean anything by that right? I'm just worried" he tried. She just shrugged her shoulders. "Ya I know" she assured him.

Derek leaves about an hour later after giving Meredith another dose of tylenol. Lexie was still in the kitchen when Meredith finally woke up and made her way downstairs. She's still in her pajamas and her hair is a complete mess but she doesn't seem to mind. She slid on to one of the stools and watched as Lexie stirred whatever it was she was cooking on the stove. "Hey you're up! How are you feeling? Are you hungry?" Lexie rambled gesturing to the pot of chicken broth and vegetables. "I don't think I'll be able to keep anything down" Meredith tells her honestly. Lexie reaches for a bowl and spoons some of the steaming liquid into it before placing it in front of her. "Well you need to stay hydrated and keep your strength up so you're going to eat it anyway" she tells her, not taking no for an answer. Meredith smiles at Lexie's forwardness. She had never known her to be bossy but now she was seeing another side of her sister. It was yet another one of the many times Meredith had found out how alike they really were.

Meredith had barely finished her soup and migrated to the couch in the living room when Lexie sat next to her and shoved a popsicle in her mouth. "What was that for?" Meredith whined incredulously as she pulled the red colored popsicle out of her mouth. "You need electrolytes" she stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The only thing I need is sleep" Meredith countered suddenly feeling exhausted. Meredith's drowsiness did not go unnoticed by Lexie and she nodded in understanding. "Just eat this and then you can take a nap" she spoke softly. Reluctantly Meredith complied with Lexie's wishes and sat on the couch half asleep as she slowly diminished the size of her cherry popsicle. About halfway through Lexie took the cold treat out of Meredith's hands. "Why don't you go to sleep. I think more of it has melted in your hands than has actually made it into your mouth" she laughed.

Lexie came back with a wet nap along with Meredith's pillow and blanket. Meredith gratefully took the napkin from her and cleaned her hands of the sticky mess that had become her popsicle. "I thought maybe we could watch a movie until you fall asleep" Lexie suggested and Meredith smiled at the offer. "Okay so I picked the Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, and Peter Pan. Which one do you want?" she asked. Meredith looked clueless and it was then that Lexie realized she had no clue what any of these movies were about. "Wait have you never seen these?" she asked completely shocked. Meredith shook her head somberly. "My mother wasn't big on stuff like this. The only movies we ever watched were old surgical tapes that she borrowed from the hospital research library" she explained. She was reminded yet again of how different it was for her and Lexie growing up. "Really? Me and Molly used to watch these endlessly. She took our copies with her when she and the baby moved away from Seattle so I went out and bought new ones. I haven't even opened them yet" Lexie rambled.

Meredith tried to hold back the disappointed look on her face when she heard Lexie mention Molly and her baby. She knew she wasn't doing a very good job but she couldn't help it. Her sisters had gotten everything she had never had growing up. An attentive mother who doted on them and a father who was their for every birthday and recital. They had gotten her father and she had been stuck with her mother. She had learned to except that a long time ago. That's just the way things turned out. But the mention of Molly's baby was too much to keep a smile on her face. Her and Derek had been trying for months and still nothing. Molly wanted a baby and she got one. It just wasn't fair. She couldn't help but think that it was her fault she had a hostile uterus. Maybe she had been dark and twisty for so long that it had seeped into her body and decided she didn't deserve a baby. Maybe the universe had seen what an awful, dismissive mother she had and decided not to risk the chance that Meredith could be just as bad, maybe worse. Realistically she knows that that's not true. She's a doctor and she knows the science behind reproduction. Unfortunately that does little to comfort her.

"I'm sorry" Lexie mutters noticing Meredith's change in demeanor. Meredith shakes the feeling and looks up at Lexie's concerned face. "No it's fine. I'm fine" she covers, "Mary Poppins sounds interesting". Lexie knows she's just trying to steer the conversation away from childhood memories and she allows it because even though she herself has many happy memories to share she's also very aware that the discussion would only be painful for her sister. "Okay great, that's actually my favorite one" she cheers, popping the movie into the television set and sitting down next to Meredith. She places Meredith's pillow on her lap and instructs her to lay down.

Any other time Meredith would refuse but she can see clear as day that Lexie's trying. Lexie is trying for her and she appreciates it even more than she knows she does. Meredith does as she's told and curls into a ball, resting her head on Lexie's lap. Once Lexie is sure Meredith is comfortable she drapes the blanket over her already half asleep form. Even though she is sure that Meredith will fall asleep in the first five minutes of the movie she starts it anyway, if only to give Meredith a piece of her childhood even though it's about twenty five years too late. Meredith manages to keep her eyes open for about half the movie before she's too tired to stay awake any longer. She's surprised she's made it this far considering how obnoxiously perky Mary Poppins seems to be. It's obvious to her now that Lexie's bright optimism isn't just because of her upbringing but also because of this ridiculous movie. Despite that, Meredith vows to herself that when her and Derek have kids they are never getting a nanny, especially one as magically chipper as Mary Poppins.

Derek gets home around six. He had explained to the chief that Meredith wasn't feeling well and had more than happy to let him leave early. He walked through the door to see his beautiful wife snuggled up against the sister she didn't even know she had two years ago. He looked on as Lexie smoothed her hand through Meredith's hair. She was talking quietly to her even though she was asleep. "And I'm really sorry that I've been such a pain today trying to take care of you. And I know you probably don't like me very much but your my sister. My mom's dead, Molly's across the world with my niece, and Dad well he's just Dad, but you know that. You're all the family I've got so I hope you don't hate me too much" Lexie spoke absentmindedly. She was still unaware that Derek was standing there and he was trying to keep it that way. He wanted to know what else she had to say. "I know you're asleep which is the only reason I'm telling you this, because if you were awake you'd probably lie to me and say that it doesn't matter to you, even though it does. But I just wanted you to know that I really hope you and Derek get your baby. I know how hard you guys have been trying and I think you'd be a great mom. Not to mention the fact that I am an awesome auntie and need more nieces and nephews to spoil. Last christmas I actually stole some of Dereks".

Lexie realizes how weird that sounds and finds herself trying to explain despite the fact that Meredith can't hear. "Well Mark considers them to be his family too so he handed me this huge list with their names and ages and we spent the entire day picking stuff out" she rambles trying to save herself the embarrassment. Derek chooses this moment to interrupt her one sided conversation and closes the door alerting her to someone elses presence in the house. He enters the room completely now and smiles at the pair cuddled together. "How long have you two been sitting like this" he asks quietly and sets his briefcase on the floor. Lexie shifts uncomfortably, making sure not to wake Meredith. "About five hours but I really have to pee and I don't want to wake her up so do you think you could" she trails off as Derek pulls out his phone and snaps a picture of the two of them. She looks at him un-amusedly. "For my mom" he explains, "She's been begging me and Mark to send photos of the two of you since she hasn't had a chance to take any herself yet". She nods her head and moves to get up. "Do you mind if I" she pauses hesitantly. She doesn't want Derek to think she can't handle Meredith. Derek laughs. "By all means, go. Empty your bladder. I'll take care of her".

She's halfway up the stairs when she hears him call her name. She turns to face him slightly nervous all though she doesn't quite know why. "You're a good sister" he says entering the hallway. She shifts down a step for a better view of her brother-in-law. "You heard me talking to Meredith, didn't you?" she asks, already knowing the answer. He feels a bit guilty for eavesdropping but he doesn't regret hearing a single word of their conversation. "I did" he admits. "By the way, the kids loved the christmas gifts. We're all really happy that you're part of the family, especially Meredith" he tells her. "How do you know?" Lexie asks, revealing a secret insecurity. Derek smiles that charming smile and she understands how her sister could fall for him even if at the time she was an intern and he was an attending. It's something they both have in common she realizes, falling for your boss. '_Maybe it's in the genes'_ she thinks. She turns her attention back to Derek and he's still smiling. "When we have a baby she, I mean we. We want you to be the godmother". She hears his words and can't help but smile. "Well you and Christina" he finds it necessary to add. "We talked about it and thought that a kid could never really be too loved so we decided that we wanted Mark and Alex to be the godfathers" he continues. Lexie's speechless for a moment and she can't seem to wipe her smile off her face. "You're baby is going to be so loved. I am going to love the _crap_ out of that baby" she says and he knows she means it. He laughs at her excitement and word choice, admonishing her slightly. "Go pee" he tells her when she still doesn't move from her spot on the stairs. She rolls her eyes and runs up the stairs still smiling.

As Lexie disappears up the stairs he returns to the den and takes the seat Lexie occupied a few moments ago. He pulls his phone out and travels to the photo he took. He's about to send it to his mom when he decides that it's a moment that should only be shared by the two sisters. This was their day of bonding. His mother could survive just as well with a different picture from another day. He feels Meredith stir next to him and he turns his attention to her. "Hey, how are you feeling" he asks wrapping his arms around her. She leans into him and breathes in his scent. "Better, although I could do without the dreams about flying nannies and dancing penguins" she answers. He looks at her puzzled. "We watched Mary Poppins. I fell asleep halfway through but it must have seeped into my subconscious" she rolls her eyes. He only laughs. "Creepy movie. I don't understand why Lexie loves it" she comments and he grins down at her. He's content to sit there and listen to her complain about the absurdity of dancing chimney sweepers all night but then she says something that surprises him. "I think I could get used to it though. I mean Lexie said that when she was little her and Molly loved it. Maybe it's a tradition we could pass down to our kids?".

In that moment he can't help but fall in love with her all over again. A year ago she would never have thought about creating traditions or having a baby and now she was talking about kids_,_ as in multiple. "I think that sounds perfect" he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She climbs on top of him and kisses him hard on the mouth. "I guess you really are feeling better" he comments pulling away. Their mouths are only inches away and she wants nothing more than to seal the gap between them. "Ya well the sooner we make a baby the sooner we could poison him or her with the idea that 'a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down'. Like really, we're doctors. Any kids we have are going to value the importance of medication" she tells him and he laughs at her banter.

"You really hate that movie, don't you?"

She leans her forehead against his.

"I really do".


End file.
